Shelving the obvious WTF question, as Harper is no beacon of Canadian gender equity, I was overwhelmed by the frenzy produced by the mere possibility of a gender-neutral anthem–especially as Harper’s dramatic overhaul of Canada’s criminal justice system is being ushered in with no visible resistance.

The bastion of left analysis, The Economist, writes that despite a 30-year low in Canadian crime rates, Harper’s government has introduced a host of reforms that eerily mirror failed U.S. criminal justice policies. Being “tough on crime,” it appears, can still be a winner in the polls, and a full one-third of the bills introduced by Harper’s government last year were tough-on-crime measures, including mandatory minimum sentencing, further criminalizing drugs and eliminating structures that would decrease time between arrest and trial.

Tough-on-crime measures also disproportionately impact communities of color, women and those already locked out of other public institutions. And of course, the sentence is not over when released from prison.

As a Canadian citizen who has worked for over a decade in the belly of the tough-on-crime era in the U.S., I am angered at these changes. Being “tough on crime” does not make our communities any stronger or safer. Rather, these punitive and expensive policies translate into more women in prison, more kids without parents and less resources for the kinds of things we know our communities need: music in schools, green things on our tables and nurses in our hospitals.

While the U.S. is reeling from decades of investment in tough-on-crime policies, Canada appears eager to sign up.

So at this moment I really don’t give a giant inflatable beaver about “all thy sons command” if it means that all of our daughters are going to be locked up or locked out.

Come on Canadians: Don’t fall for the old bait-and-switch trick in the middle of an economic downtown. “Tough on crime” consigns too many of our sisters and brothers to civil and physical death . We need more than a gender-neutral national anthem in response.

Comments

Why indeed? You’ve posed an excellent question, to which the majority of Canadians are also asking. Unfortunately, Mr. Harper’s base is a right winged ideological bunch, trying to assert as much American policy as they can. They are manipulating the media, suppressing dissent, and seek to marginalize anyone with a different point of view, which is very UN democratic.

As much as I love the U.S.A., I’m a Canadian, and we do have distinct differences, and quite frankly, I prefer my side of the border. It’s all what you’re used to I suppose.

My first inkling and wake up call to me re: of Mr. Harper’s agenda was back in 2006 when he removed the word “Equality” from the Canadian Status of Women’s Act. Since then, he has shut down many women’s shelters and cut off funding for many more. He is no friend to women and is seeking to marginalize the female population of my country.

Mr. Harper is also opposed to abortion and has cut funding to those groups too.

So, things aren’t so rosy here in Canada, however people are waking up to what this man is doing. I say this man, because he has his caucaus under a tight rein and is now seeking to control the media as well.

Democracy and equal rights are a slipppery slope, and I’m glad to see you’ve posted about it. I never thought I’d live to see the day when my country had such a government in power.

We now have neither a gender-neutral anthem NOR a sane government. The longer this goes on, the more of these unjust measures are likely to be implemented. Most feared of all are the privatized prisons that have been such a flop in the US. O Canada, indeed…